hack Fragment
by BethanyDutai
Summary: Fragment wasn't the only game Harold Hyuek was working on. The beginnings of Morganna and the disappearance of Harold.
1. Deletion

pre 

.hack\\FRAGMENT

**by Bethany Dutai**

DELETION

**Improper shutdown detected. Scanning for errors.**

**No error detected. Now running start-up programs.**

**Welcome. What would you like to do today?**

Open file

**Open which file?**

The Realm

**Opening file.**

**File opened.**

Delete file

**Confirm File Delete: Are you sure you want to delete this file? All information will be lost.**

_What are you doing Harold?_

I have to delete you Morganna

_Why, Harold?_

I'm making another game and there isn't enough room on the hard drive for two gaming programs

_Why are you making another game, Harold? Why not finish The Realm?_

**Confirm File Delete: Are you sure you want to delete this file? All information will be lost.**

_Why do you want to delete me, Harold?_

Fragment is to honor my friend, Emma Wieland. It will be based on her poem

**Confirm File Delete: Are you sure you want to delete this file? All information will be lost.**

_Why do you want to delete me, Harold? Why not finish The Realm?_

Your file has grown too big, Morganna. Even if I did want to finish the data for The Realm, there would not be enough memory left for it

_Are you sure you want to do this, Harold?_

Yes

_Then do what you think is best._

**Confirm File Delete: Are you sure you want to delete this file? All information will be lost.**

Yes

**File deleted.**

---

**File saved.**

Open file

**Open which file?**

The Realm

**File not found.**

Search for file

**Search for which file?**

The Realm

**Search Results:**

**Realm Story Board**

**Realm Character Designs**

**Realm Coding**

Realm Coding

**File found.**

Opening file.

**An Error Has Occurred: Your task cannot be completed because there is not enough memory on your computer. Try closing some programs.**

Close /FRAGMENT

Open Realm Coding

**An Error Has Occurred: Your task cannot be completed because there is not enough memory on your computer. Try closing some programs.**

Close Solitaire

Open Realm Coding

**Opening file.**

Highlight text

Copy text

Close file

**Closing file.**

Open file

**Open which file?**

/FRAGMENT

**Opening file.**

Paste text

Save file

**File saved.**

---

_What's wrong, Harold? I thought you wanted me deleted. Did you change your mind?_

Nothing is wrong. I just designed a part for you in the new game

_My part was already made, Harold. I was to goddess over a barren world in The Realm. My 'part' was fine until your deletion of The Realm._

You were going to lose in The Realm. The dark deities always lose at the end of the game. In this one, you only have to do one thing

_Which is what?_

All you have to do is to wake up my daughter, Aura

_You want me to do this one task for you after you deleted me and my game?_

If I truly want you gone, Morganna, I would have wiped you off the hard drive. Deleting something just marks it memory as usable

_I will not be a simple NPC, Harold._

And you won't. Just read the coding and decide then, okay?

_Fine!_

**Warning: Your computer is crashing. Shut down now before everything is lost.**

**-bleep-**

A middle-aged man sits in front of a dark monitor. He sighs and rests his head in his hands. He never thought his AI would be so temperamental. It might be a while before he could encrypt her into the /FRAGMENT programming. This wasn't good as he was planning on selling rights to it in two weeks.

He gets out of his chair and heads towards the bathroom. He changes into his pajamas and goes to bed. He looks over at his nightstand. Next to the lamp is a picture of a woman and a well read letter from the CC Corporation.

"Good night, Emma." He says to the picture before turning off the lamp.

/pre 


	2. Copyright

pre 

.hack\\FRAGMENT

**by Bethany Dutai**

Copyright

"Mr. Hyuek, Mr. Ryononi will see you now."

Harold stood up at the secretary's words. He was the only person in the lobby. He moved towards the solid oak doors. It was a rather long walk, at least to him. He reached the doors, put his hand on the knob, and paused briefly before entering.

"Harold! Harold! How are you?" Miaishi Ryononi said as he walked out from behind his desk and gave Harold a bear hug, lifting him off the floor a little. The big man was an excellent business man, as well overfriendly.

Miaishi's office had floor-to-ceiling windows on all three walls. There were ferns and other plants – mostly bamboo – here and there and a novelty water fountain on his desk. Through the north windows you could see Tokyo Tower.

Miaishi let go of Harold and said, "Have a seat and we'll talk business."

Harold sat on the nearest chair, clutching his ribs and breathing slowly.

"When I bought Fragment," Miaishi started. "I had no idea it would such a hit. People on my staff kept throwing opposing ideas. 'People could still be wary from Pluto's Kiss.' 'Parent won't allow such a violent game.' But I said, 'Online entertainment is at on all time low. Consumers will be thirsting for such a game as this.'

"So we gave copies to a select few to test out for us. And you know what? They all loved it!

"Now I'm willing to pay a lot for another game, Harold. Over a million in American dollars. You see, since Pluto's Kiss we've lost the people who could make games, so I need you to make it for me.

"We want to call it 'The World', change few things that the tester complained about, and make it more user friendly. It you can do all of this and more, you'll go on to be a very rich man."

""What would I do with all that money?" Harold asked. CC Corp's president looked baffled for a moment, then he started laughing.

"Who cares what you do with the money?" he said. "Spend it, save it, or wipe your ass with it."

Harold flinched at the crude language and asked, "Why would I need so much money."

"Leave the deep thoughts for the poets, Harold. All you need to know is that you'll be one very rich man after this deal. You'll never have to work another day in your life." Miaishi continued with his spiel.

"Now we can add a message board easily enough with our own technicians. And how about changing the dungeon keywords. Instead of players making up their own word, we give them a list and they pick three…"

---

Three hours later and Harold was finally leaving the office. His arms were full of papers, charts, and compact discs.

"Well, Harold, have a good day, and I'd like to have 'The World' before November. Oh, that's fun to say." Miaishi said.

Harold just smiled and responded with a simple, "Guten tag."

Since Harold didn't bring a brief case to the meeting, he carried everything in his arms as he walked home.

The work that Miaishi wanted done wouldn't take long. The work that Harold wanted done would be the one that would take up the time before the deadline.

He turned the corner passing an alleyway thinking of numbers and codes that only he understood. He was on a particularly difficult code when from the alley he heard, "What do you think you're doing!" in a rough voice. Harold stopped and went back to alley and saw the man walking away from a crying girl child with a small kitten in his hand. The man was walking right at him.

"Excuse me sir, but are you, by chance, selling that kitten. I'll give you 5,000 yen for it." Harold said. The man stared at him and grunted questionably.

"Make it 50,000 then." Harold pulled out the amount from his pockets and held it out to the man. The man still didn't seem to realize what was going on, but at the appearance of cash he got the picture. He took the money and replaced it with the half dead cat.

"Guten tag." Said Harold and he walked off balancing the cat on his papers.

When Harold got home, he dumped his burden onto a table and went into the kitchen to get some cream. The kitten had managed to get tangled in Harold's long hair and he tried to untangle him, settling him in the crook of his before opening the refridgerator.

After he poured the cream, he pick up an eyedropper and fed the kitten the cream with it. The kitten drank greedily.

"Well now. What shall we call you?" he asked the kitten.

"How about… Maha."

---

When Maha had his fill, Harold fixed up a shoebox with a fluffy towel for him to sleep on. Once he was settled down Harold left to warm up his computer.

When you think you have escaped, Talvos exists

To destroy those with his exceeding cruelty

Upon violent requital, only to remain is the void, the vacant darkness

Is the harbinger that Copernic is to appear

_What is this, Harold?_

The Epitaph of the Twilight

_Is this Emma's serenade?_

Yes

_How, quaint._

What makes you say that?

_An epitaph is an inscription on or at a tomb or grave in memory of the one buried there. You are basing The World on a story about the death of twilight. The irony is indefinable._

The sound of laughter rang out from the speakers, sending chills down Harold's spine.

/pre 


	3. Testing

pre 

.hack\\FRAGMENT

**by Bethany Dutai**

Testing

Harold turned over the game one week before the deadline, satisfied with his work. His plan was in order. The only thing that could go wrong was if something happened to Morganna, and if that occurred, well, he had a back up plan.

Miaishi had been pleased with the outcome. He loaded it into his computer with Harold still in the room. Watching Miaishi, he had been reminded of a saying that his mother said, often while shaking her head. "Boys don't get older, they just get bigger toys."

It was now December and it had been a while since he had seen Miaishi. Harold was sitting in his front room reading a book with Mozart playing, when his buzzer rang. He opened the door and, speak of the devil, there was Miaishi with a package in his arms.

"Harold! Harold! How are you?" he said joyfully.

"Quite well, thank you. Won't you step out of the cold?" Harold waved him in.

"Don't mind if I do. I got your Christmas present right here, so where's your computer?"

"Over this way."

"Ah, I see you bought a top of the line computer for yourself. I knew you'd find something to do with your money," he kept talking as he set the package down on some open table space. "Now time to open your gift."

"As you wish." Harold looked down at the box. It was wrapped in brown paper and had a floppy bow, most likely the work of Miaishi himself. He peeled away the paper and folded it into a neat little square. Then he tugged off the tape and tossed it in the waste basket before opening the flaps. The whole process took five minutes to complete.

"You're a genius, Harold, but you are really off your rocker you know." Miaishi said incredulously.

Harold grinned and took a shiny, new case out of the box. On the front was a picture of a girl with short hair, navel exposed, and angel wings carrying an axe. Above her was the game title: The World.

"Thank you." Harold said, still looking at the cover.

"But wait, there's more!" Miaishi gestured towards the box. "How can you play your own game without the proper controller?"

Harold looked back into the box. Frowning slightly, he removed a headset with a wide visor.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's what you view the game through. Wherever you turn your head, you see the game, and you use the controller to move around," Miaishi rambled excitedly. "The servers will be opened on December 24 at midnight. That is the same time as when the online games ban will be lifted."

"People will be playing games instead of spending time with their families?"

"Gees, Harold, it's not like we're forcing them to sit at their computers and log on."

"You're right."

"Of course I am. I'm not President for nothing."

---

Harold found himself sitting at his computer with the silly headset at the time that he thought was rather crude, logging on.

He looked around and felt proud. He really outdid himself on this game. He saw a group of angels like the one on the cover, emerge from the warp gate laughing. He smiled.

There was ringing from behind him and when he turned to look, he only saw more characters of the wave master class.

Softly cursing in German, he took off the headset and placed it on the chair as he rose from it, where it then fell to the floor. He looked at it, but the phone kept ringing and he went to attend to it first. It was Miaishi on the other end, checking to see if Harold was online.

Maha was walking past the computer room when a single note rang from inside. Curious, he went inside. The visor was still on the floor, facing Maha. The screen was snowing, but as Maha stalked closer, it turned blue with swirls of green. The note was struck again, and this time a voice did too.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty…"

Maha stuck his face up to the visor screen. He stood there for a few minutes, then suddenly, he collapsed.

---

The lobby smelled of cat urine and Harold couldn't wait to be out of there, but he was more worried about Maha. The cat lay on his lap, unmoving. He sighed. The poor thing was wasting away.

"Sir," called the receptionist. "The first door to the left."

The vet lifted Maha's eyelid and shined a light into it. Clicking it off, he rubbed his stubble. "I've never anything like this." he said.

"What is it?" Harold asked.

"Your cat is in a coma. Unless it awakes suddenly, it's going to die within the next few days. We don't have a life support system for animals. You'll need to put him down."

"Well, I suppose it will be better then letting Maha starve to death."

"Of course there is a small fee."

"Of course." Harold said sadly.

Harold left the vet's and headed straight for CC Corp. He burst through the front doors with fury in his heart.

"You can't go in there without an appointment!"

Harold ignored the secretary and pushed open the office doors.

"Harold -"

"Don't you 'Harold, Harold' me Miaishi." Harold interrupted.

"What's wrong, Harold? This isn't like you." asked Miaishi.

"There's something wrong with your visor."

"My techs have preformed test after test, Harold. They are perfectly safe." Miaishi said calmly.

"Well there's something your tests didn't pick up. My cat went into a coma after sticking his face up to the screen."

"Then it's a good thing the game isn't made for cats to play then, isn't it?" Miaishi stood up. "If it will make you feel better, I'll have a warning label put on the box, but other than that there's not much I can do. Now, I have a meeting soon. We'll have to continue this some other time." he guided Harold to the door.

Harold rounded on him. "I'll take that visor apart, piece by piece, and I swear to God if I find that you've overlooked something that will hurt people, I'll -"

"You'll what... Harold?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Harold glared at him. They stood there for a moment, face to face, before Harold walked off.

Miaishi sat back down at his desk. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking, then pressed the call button on the intercom."

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you be a dear and page the Bewlay Brothers for me?"

"Right away sir."

When Harold got back home he took a hot shower to wash away his frustration. It worked for the most part, but he still paced around the rooms after he redressed. He glanced at the computer and stalled.

'Curiosity killed the cat. Literally.' he thought.

"Meow."

/pre 


	4. Download

pre 

.hack\\FRAGMENT

**by Bethany Dutai**

Download

Harold stood in the middle of his computer room holding the accursed headset. Finally he put it on and sat down. If there wasn't anything wrong with the headset then it must be the game, and if it was in the game then it was up to him to fix it.

He logged on and used the warp gate to go to the last visited area. It was a snow covered plane. He walked around for hours, not running into anything. There were no players or monsters in the area, which Harold thought was strange.

He warped out back to the root town and entered the three keywords that would lead to his sanctuary: Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. He was on a bridge. One way lead to nowhere, the other to a grand chapel with the door slightly open.

He walked in, his character reflected in the polished floor. He took a seat on the front pew and looked at the statue. The girl with long hair stared out into nothing.

He sat staring at the girl with a sad, little smile for a long time. Then he heard a noise. A rattling sound. From the walls, chains shot out and twisted around the statue, binding it. "No!" Harold shouted, rising to his feet.

A familiar voice sounded out. _Welcome, Harold._

"Morganna!" he yelled, looking around. "What are you doing!"

_I'm doing what you wanted me to. Watching after Aura._

"This isn't what I meant."

_Of course it isn't, because if it was up to you, I'd simply fade away and Aura would reign over The World. That isn't going to happen, Harold. I'm going to rule The World and put a stop to your back up plan._

"You can't the users from playing, Morganna. I encrypted it away from even you."

A small, cat-like character walked up to Harold's side.

_It is amazing what you can learn on the internet. This is my little experiment. His name is Maha. Just like in the Epitaph._

Harold's eyes widened as he looked at the creature. "No." he whispered.

_Yes, your precious, little cat. He had such nice memories of you, until I deleted them. And now, say goodbye to your world, Harold, and hello to mine._

---

_Wakey, wakey, Harold. Open your eyes and see your demise._

Harold opened them to find a world of blue and green. He could fell his hair waving against his face.

_Let's see what you've done with the back-up program._

A feeling of his mind being torn apart overcame Harold. In a since it was true. Bands appeared, rotating around him with great speed. Playing out on the band where his memories, like a film ribbon. All around him, the memories of his childhood and adulthood played out. He looked at the band which played out the years with Emma. How he missed her.

_Where is it! I can't tell the difference out of any of these!_

Mad laughter ran from Harold's lips.

"You can't tell the differences of human emotions. I don't feel these days anyways." he said.

_Wait, what's this? Ha. I've found it Harold._

The world of blue and green stopped, and Harold found himself on the ground. Next to him was a bed with a teddy bear and a glowing copy of the statue floating above it. Trees surrounded the clearing.

_Hope? Hope is what it takes to awaken her? My how whimsical you are! Now all I have do is wait for the one and do the same to him as I did to Maha. But you dear Harold, no one is ever going to see you again. I've downloaded you, body and mind. I'm going to shatter you memory and spread it throughout The World. Goodbye, Harold._

---

A knock came from behind Harold's door.

"Pizza delivery!" a deep voice said, and then another started laughing.

"Quiet!" Voice A said to Voice B. "Mr. Hyuek isn't coming out easily today. So let's go in to him."

The wood shattered as the door was knocked in. Two hulking figures walked past the busted frame. "Knock, knock. The Bewlay Brothers are coming."

They searched the house, breaking what they could before they went into the computer room. The headset was swinging off of the chair, a blue and green screensaver was showing.

"Better tell the boss." said one the Bewlays. He took out a cell phone from his pocket and punched in some numbers.

"Hello?" came the voice from the other end.

"Hey, boss. It's Bruce. We scouted out the guy and made sure he was home, but now he ain't."

"You and Benny have better find him. Being the maker of the game, people might believe him if he goes public about it being dangerous and everything that I've tried to build will be ruined."

"What if there is something wrong with the game?"

"Yeah, what Benny said. What if there is something wrong with it?"

"There isn't anything wrong with it. He would have caught it himself if there was. He's finally crossed the line with that stupid cat dying. Now you need it make sure that he's gone forever."

Bruce hung up the phone with the push of a button. "Man, I can't believe we're reduced to offing a game programmer." he said.

"Why don't we quit and skip town?" Benny asked.

"That's sound like a good idea. Let do it." Bruce agreed.

They started walking out of the room when an eerie song began to play that would scare them out of the house.

_If you are near to dark_

_I will tell you of the sun_

_You are here, no escape_

_From my visions of The World_

_You will cry, all alone_

_But it does not mean a thing to me._

/pre 


End file.
